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I think the ideal partner for Lidstrom is a physical, rushing defenseman, which Wentworth is not...

Lidstrom had his eary stanley cup championship success next to HHOFer Larry Murphy. Murph's big and moves up ice to join the play, though the veteran was physical only in traffic when necessary or to break up the rush, not throwin' checks to intimidate or put players out of the play. Bowman liked Murphy and put young Lidstrom with him.

"Gee, I get a bobblehead next. Thanks."

As a random Wings board poster put it:

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Larry Murphy had probably the biggest impact on Lidstrom's development...Murphy never being fleet of foot - was making the smart plays, rarely got caught outta position, and was tuff to beat 1 on 1...I'm certain Nick picked up a lot from Larry.

I know who Lidstrom played with in real life and that his best real life partners were not physical. But in real life, the only weakness in his defensive game (and it's a small one) was battling in front of the net with physical forwards. So ideally, if you want to form the best shutdown pair possible, Lidstrom's partner would be a tough guy. But I don't think it's that big a deal.

Maybe I should defer to the Red Wings' fan, but the Red Wings picked up Larry Murphy at the 1997 trade deadline, and Lidstrom was already considered the leader of their pairing in the 1997 playoffs, so I'm not sure how Murphy could have had that big an impact on Lidstrom's development. Edit: Though I find it a little hard to defer to someone who spells it "tuff." Double edit: And now that I read the thread, another Red Wings fan disagrees with the one you are quoting.

I know who Lidstrom played with in real life and that his best real life partners were not physical. But in real life, the only weakness in his defensive game (and it's a small one) was battling in front of the net with physical forwards. So ideally, if you want to form the best shutdown pair possible, Lidstrom's partner would be a tough guy. But I don't think it's that big a deal.

Maybe I should defer to the Red Wings' fan, but the Red Wings picked up Larry Murphy at the 1997 trade deadline, and Lidstrom was already considered the leader of their pairing in the 1997 playoffs, so I'm not sure how Murphy could have had that big an impact on Lidstrom's development. Edit: Though I find it a little hard to defer to someone who spells it "tuff." Double edit: And now that I read the thread, another Red Wings fan disagrees with the one you are quoting.

now that I read the thread, another Red Wings fan disagrees with the one you are quoting.

Where? I read the thread again and the closest I can think of was this reply (which doesn't disagree with my point):

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Agree about the similar playing styles, but Lidstrom usually credits McCrimmon as being his largest influence in the NHL.

Here's a relevant post to the question of whom to pair with Lidstrom:

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An interesting testament to Lidstrom's defensive abilities that he's almost always been paired with offense-first d-men, yet he's consistently been at or among the top in defensive statistics (not talking about +/-, but real defensive benchmarks). ...And then, despite being the first man back, he's still at or among the top of scoring for d-men for an extended period of time.

Where? I read the thread again and the closest I can think of was this reply (which doesn't disagree with my point):

This is the exchange:

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Originally Posted by F Michael

I honestly believe that Larry Murphy had probably the biggest impact on Lidstrom's developement...Murphy never being fleet of foot - was making the smart plays, rarely got caught outta position, and was tuff to beat 1 on 1...I'm certain Nick picked up alot from Larry.

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Originally Posted by LowTide

Agree about the similar playing styles, but Lidstrom usually credits McCrimmon as being his largest influence in the NHL.

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Originally Posted by F Michael

Really?..I know the "Beast" was his 1st defense partner, but I honestly would've thought Murph had a greater impact...Kinda funny how that is, and yet many here want McCrimmon's head on a platter (except for myself).

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Originally Posted by LowTide

Salming obviously had a huge influence on Lidstrom as he was growing up watching him - but he does give McCrimmon a lot of credit in pretty much every interview when asked who his influences were. I have a feeling it played a big part in McCrimmon being hired, and for keeping his job. McCrimmon really was a premier defensive defenseman and tends to get underrated.

By the time Murphy came along, I think Lidstrom was already better than him.

For what it's worth, LowTide's posts fits how I remember things - Lidstrom was already better than Murphy when Murphy came to Detroit. But I'm sure he picked up a few tricks from the veteran afterwards.

Wasn't really wanting to do this but since I need to maximize my investment in my Nels Stewart line - which I have started with Wayne Cashman - I need to inject some speed to it as well as a less predictable player offensively.

A player who can gain the zone with his speed and allow us to change up dumping in for Cashman, pot goals when the opportunity arises, or set up Old Poison to administer big hurt.

Sooo.. for the second year running we pick RW, Bill Mosienko who was top 10 in goals, assists and points 5 times each.

I think some people discount his finishes a bit (fairly) because some of them were during the war -- but I think the timing was somewhat coincidental in his case. He continued to post top 10s after the war and into the early 50s.

He is also a little small for my tastes but I daresay he'll be just fine on a line with Cashman and Stewart.

Here is my bio of him from last year (warning there might be some names in the quotes, I didn't bother reading it all atm):

As Nick Kronwall said before the Blues/Red Wings game, "Lidstrom is the perfect human". Whomever you pair him with won't matter much; Lidstrom will be solid defensively and offensively either way. He's shown the ability to adapt.

Wasn't really wanting to do this but since I need to maximize my investment in my Nels Stewart line - which I have started with Wayne Cashman - I need to inject some speed to it as well as a less predictable player offensively.

A player who can gain the zone with his speed and allow us to change up dumping in for Cashman, pot goals when the opportunity arises, or set up Old Poison to administer big hurt.

Sooo.. for the second year running we pick RW, Bill Mosienko who was top 10 in goals, assists and points 5 times each.

I think some people discount his finishes a bit (fairly) because some of them were during the war -- but I think the timing was somewhat coincidental in his case. He continued to post top 10s after the war and into the early 50s.

He is also a little small for my tastes but I daresay he'll be just fine on a line with Cashman and Stewart.

Here is my bio of him from last year (warning there might be some names in the quotes, I didn't bother reading it all atm):

With our ninth selection, the 274th overall in this year All-Time draft, les Nordiques de Québec are extremely proud to select, from Prescott, Ontario, Canada, defenceman Leo Boivin

''We are ecstatic to round out our top-4 at the defence position with Leo Boivin, a player that fits perfectly into the type of team les Nordiques de Québec are trying to build. One of the most physical defenceman of his generation, Boivin is mostly remembered for his devastating bodycheck. Alongside being one of the best hip checker of all-time, Leo brings solid defensive abilities, alongside decent offensive output. Moreover, the hall of famer brings leadership, hard work and tenacity to a team that should be renown as one of the hardest and most intimidating to play against.''